I have been sitting under my loom for 3 days now tying and re-tying attempting to achieve balance. I am very stiff but also completely obsessed. I have received so much encouragement and advice from another Bergman owner in the US without whom I think I might have given up. For those who havn’t visited do go and read her posts at http://trapunto.wordpress.com/ It has proved to me that the world of blogging is a real community
Now I think I can present my dusty old girl to the world
The wood is maple and has lost its patina and shine in many places. I hope that I will be able to bring that back. There is some woodworm which I have treated. On advice from a well wisher who was rather horrified that a beginner should start with an 8 shaft loom I have only tied-up 4 shafts. In the picture you can see 4 jacks tipped up because they are not attached to anything. The reed is 15 dents and very rusty. I am trying to clean it up with lanolin spray and wire wool but I am ordering a new stainless steel one, though not sure what size to order. I want one that will enable a range of warps so again advice please.
whilst I am wating for my husband to make me a back beam I am finding not being able to start making a warp immediately good for my tendencies to rush on (making chaos as I go) It will enable me to work at the tying up particularly following ‘ trapuntos’ instructions. I am also thinking about colour and design and planning future projects. I am a machine knitter and have many cones of yarn. I have tended to buy cheap and I very much want to weave in a more thoughtful manner. All this preparation should produce something lovely….(I can dream!!)
This picture shows the absence of a back beam!
There seem to be many books for weavers but again I think I will restrain myself until I am clear what I really need. At the moment I feel a book on the countermarch loom and one on design ,colour and texture would keep me going .
I am not sure what kind of weaver my great great aunt was, but the reed and remains of a warp still clinging to the warp beam indicate she used fine yarn. I do remember seeing a sample book of hers. It was full of 8 shaft traditional patterns and in my opinion old fashioned and rather stuffy.
I was pleased to find a shuttle amongst her bits and pieces though, beautifully shaped and with a Swedish maker’s name stamped on it..Gunnar Anderson
The loom has a patent NO 2057997 and another number MN 3A25 which could identify when it was made if it is the manufacturers number. I believe it to be one of the earlier Bergman looms as it does not have some of the later refinements. It is just over 48″ high, 32″ wide and the weaving width is approx 24″ though I have not woven yet.
I am not satisfied with my tie-ups. I know that the blind cord I am using is shiny and I think that with use it will lengthen. As I grow in confidence I think I will feel competent enough to order Tex-solv paticularly for shaft, lamm tie-ups. The treadles are fine as I am making use of the cords which were already on the loom. I think the blinds in my bathroom have cotton non-shiny cords so I may just go and chop some off so that I can continue with my experimentation……
What a sweetheart your loom is! And you’ve got a good shuttle, too. Gunnar Anderson Vävfabrik = GAV = Glimåkra.
I would agree that you’ve got one of the early ones like mine. The wood is actually fir, which is one of the absolute best for looms–and the one traditionally used for them in Sweden. My dad was really impressed with the craftsmanship of my Bergman when he saw it; he said he’d try tried to work with fir, and it’s extremely strong, and not easy to cut precisely.
After much thought I got an 8 dent reed to supplement my old 15 dent. That way I have something that divides on the even numbers, and I really doubt I’ll be weaving thicker warp yarns than would be sett at 8 ends per inch. A look at a sett chart might help you make up your mind. 10 dent reeds are also useful.
You might want to make your first warp something in a warm tone so any remaining rust powder that comes off won’t show up. Oh, and something fairly strong . I used warp of laceweight merino sock machine yarn for my first big project. It didn’t have enough twist so it kept stretching and breaking! Live and learn.
Thank you so much for all your help. You are a mine of information. My husband keeps reminding me that I nearly threw this loom away. It would have been sacrilage. I am restraining myself from ordering equipment until I get back from hip surgery, and using time to learn more. Though I love the suggestion of weaving with rust coloured wool!
By the way how do you join Weavering its driving me mad? Where do you paste that code thing???
Look at that beauty! I vote for Madge as a name. She actually is quite like Madonna. She traveled across from NY to Britain; she’s gorgeous but has been around the block a few times; she no doubt can inspire those around her to swear like sailors with her antics; but she’ll treat you to one of the best shows of your life. . . sounds like Madge to me. 🙂
Whatever you name her, she will love you back for having rescued her, and will continue to get better with age and use. Naturally, I now want to know more about your gr-aunt and how she became a weaver.
I’ll chime in with Trapunto here, and suggest some earth toned threads for the first go ’round if you don’t have a new reed by then. Even colored, cotton rug warp wouldn’t be too bad of an idea — strong, inexpensive, and comes in many colors. It would let you wind a good, tight, warp without being stretchy, and you could do a color gamp for a couple of table mats out of it to just test her out.
E N J O Y !
Will be looking forward to you having a speedy healing with that hip and being able to spend hours of ‘OT’ at your loom.
Jane
Jane
Great to make contact with you and here’s to further discussion.I am going to have to put myself on hold for a week or two. I am going for my pre operation assessment tomorrow and then I think my hip will be sorted next Friday. I am not sure whether I will be able to crawl under the loom for a while after but I am absolutely hopeless at being a patient.
Unfortunately I don’t remember where I pasted the weaveRing code (I got my husband to help me); I just remember I wasn’t sure I’d done it right because it took Charleen a week or so to add my blog.
Hi Deborah, what a good looking loom, even without a back beam.
For the first few warps on my loom I used just 4 shafts, but when I went on to eight it didn’t seem much different. The main thing is to start with simple patterns, e.g. plain weave, diagonal twill, point twill.
A very good book for 4 shaft patterns, which includes effects of using different colours, is Anne Dixon’s Handweaver’s Pattern Book.
Do investigate what your local library has, or can order in for you. I got some very useful books from Derbyshire Libraries but had to make use of the request service to get them as none were based in the local branch.
It’s also well worth looking at the books for sale on the Loom Exchange web site.
When you go onto 8 shafts, my favourite of all 8 shaft pattern books (and also very good on different weave structures) is “Eight Shafts A Place to Begin” by Wanda Jean Shelp and Carloyn Wostenberg. I think it’s out of print, if so, search for it on abebooks.co.uk
The best resource for technical queries are the books by Peggy Osterkamp – expensive investment, but worth their weight in gold. I wish I’d bought them when I started out, as so many of the early difficulties I struggled with could have been resolved with Peggy’s wise words to hand.
I can’t advise of a reference book for countermarche looms, I haven’t found one I really like yet. I managed without, and am happy to talk looms so suggest you just keep going and ask everytime you get stuck! I got a lot of help from fellow members of the Online Guild of Weavers Spinners and Dyers which got me through many early obstacles.
Having said that, I’ve not seen this book, but there is a favourable review of “The Big Book of Weaving” by Laila Lundell & Elisabeth Windesjo in the latest Journal for Weavers, Spinners and Dyers. It is an introduction to weaving on counterbalance or countermarche floor looms. Could be helpful.
I get my reeds from Don Porritt (no web site, but very useful catalogue). I started with a 12 dent per inch and a 4 (the 4 is for rugs) (that is floor rugs, not blankets) but 10 is also very useful. I say either 10 or 12 to start. You could do lots of weaving of medium weight yarns with these.
The Handweavers Studio in London sell cotton tie-up cord, and are very knowledgeable and friendly – it’s well worth phoning for a chat about requirements. They are very good for mail order.
Wonderful to hear from someone in the UK. I have been aware that all the great books and weaving supplies seem to be across the water and I felt I couldn,t get my hands on them. I’m going to take a note of the books you suggest and search for them (not all as it all comes a bit pricey and I am an absolute sucker for books!) I will also explore Don Porritt as I hadn’t heard of him. Its reassuring to find someone else who started on 8 shafts and I can appreciate the reasons why. Send my love to Derbyshire. We lived between Ashbourne and Wirksworth.
I should have thought to give you Don’s phone number, however, you’ll find his address and phone and all the other UK weaving contacts you might need on Chris Jordan’s Spindizzy web site, here’s the link.
http://homepages.tesco.net/~jpandca.jordan/wheel/resources.html
I’m sure that’s plenty of information for now. I’ve been reading Trapunto’s posts on Bergman tie-up and wonder if it’s time I wrote something that well organised about my Toika loom. It’s great to know that beginner weavers like you are finding helpful information in weaving blogs. Sharing what we know and being part of a community is what I think blogging is about.
I live further north than you were, in the Goyt Valley of the High Peak, but all Derbyshire is beautiful 😉 and there’s even a special beauty to rainy and misty days which is good as we get so many!